Prevent Tick Bites: 13 Things Ticks Won’t Tell You

Protect yourself from tick bites, Lyme disease, and other tick-borne diseases with these tips on everything from how to remove a tick to how to spot symptoms of Lyme disease.

mouse
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I need mice to munch on

According to the CDC, my usual meal of choice as a deer tick, especially in the Northeast, is the white-footed mouse. If there’s poor acorn growth in the fall, I’m going to come after humans instead. (The mice eat the acorns, and ticks feed on the mice; itโ€™s very Circle of Life.) Beware: Weโ€™re the kind of ticks that can transmit Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that can cause chronic fatigue, joint pain, and other problems if left untreated. These are the 18 silents signs of Lyme disease.

tick on a person's finger
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I’m smaller than you think

I may look pretty large and in charge in a photo, but in real life, I am very tricky to spot, especially when Iโ€™m still a baby. Ticks go through four developmental stages: egg, larvae, nymph, and adult. Tick larvae are about the size of this period. Nymphs are about as big as a poppy seed and adults are roughly the size of a sesame seed. Teeny.

tick on a blade of grass
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Psst: Count my legs. Yep, there are eight

Itโ€™s important to know what we look like, in case you spot a tick on your body or on your pet.ย Technically, weโ€™re in the same class as spidersโ€”arachnidsโ€”which means we have eight legs compared to insectsโ€™ six. Although how we look can vary by species, we’re are also wingless and have a single oval-shaped body thatโ€™s usually pretty flat unless itโ€™s engorged with blood after a feeding. Don’t think I’m a tick? This is how to identify 9 common bug bites.

tick on a person's skin
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I carry more than just Lyme Disease

Lyme disease gets a lot of attention, likely because it has the potential to be the most chronic of all the tick-borne illnesses, but we ticks can spread at least 10 different known diseases in humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis. The kind of illness I give you depends on my species (there are more than 800 species of ticks in the world, and at least 90 in the continental United States) and the different bacteria or other pathogens Iโ€™m carrying. It’s admittedly tricky to tell if you’ve been bitten because symptoms can be vague and easy to confuse with those of other illnesses. Mostly you’ll feel flu-like (fever, chills, aches, and pains) and develop a rash. If you think you’ve been bitten, see your doctor right away to reduce the risk of serious complications.ย These are the tick-borne diseases you need to know about

Bitten? You might not be sick

Thereโ€™s no need to panic if you spot me on your body or on your pet. Thatโ€™s because not all ticks are infected with disease, and removing them promptly can reduce the odds weโ€™ll spread it to you. Most people who are bitten by a tick do not get Lyme disease or other tick-borne illnesses. For example, in areas of the Northeast and upper Midwest where we ticks love to cluster, only about 25 percent of nymphs and 50 percent of adults have been found to harbor Lyme-causing bacteria, according to the American Lyme Disease Foundation.

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Call the doctor when…

If youโ€™ve been bitten by a tick, thereโ€™s usually no need to do anything unless you start experiencing symptoms. (Antibiotics arenโ€™t given just because of a tick bite, although some doctors may prescribe them prophylactically). But many people arenโ€™t clued into symptoms and focus too much on the rashโ€”or lack thereof. The telltale bullโ€™s eye rash for Lyme disease (other tick-borne illnesses have โ€œtrademarkโ€ rashes too) occurs in just 70 to 80 percent of cases, for example. In Rocky Mountain spotted fever, about 10 percent of people never experience a rash. In other words, just because you donโ€™t have a rash doesnโ€™t mean you donโ€™t have a tick-borne illness, especially when youโ€™re experiencing other symptoms like fever and aches and pains.

yellow lab puppy lying in the grass
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I love your pet as much as I love you

Protect your pooch by checking daily for me, and using a tick repellent lotion or collar, suggests the American Veterinary Medical Association. If you live in a very tick-dense area and your dog spends a lot of time outside, you can also talk to your vet about vaccination. However, vaccines arenโ€™t available for all the tick-borne illnesses dogs can get, and they also donโ€™t stop dogs from bringing ticks into your home and possibly spreading them to you. If youโ€™ve got a cat who spends time outdoors, talk to your vet about the right protective products. Cats are very sensitive to many chemicals, so donโ€™t apply anything without first consulting the doctor. This video shows the right way to remove a tick.

close up of hiking boots on a trail
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Watch your ankles

Iโ€™m most likely to transmit Lyme disease to humans as a nymph (typically late spring and early summer), and thatโ€™s mainly because Iโ€™m small and hard to spot, so people donโ€™t have the chance to remove me before I get them sick, say researchers at the University of Rhode Island. Although Iโ€™m pretty hard to see because of my small size, the best place to look for me is your anklesโ€”we tick nymphs donโ€™t crawl high off the floor.

man and woman hiking in the woods
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Don’t just check bare arms and legs

Since Lyme and some other diseases arenโ€™t instantly transmitted when a tick latches on, experts say doing frequent tick checks is one of the most effective way to prevent illness. More tips: Wear light-colored clothing, which is easier to spot us on, keep shirts tucked in, and always wear closed-toe shoes in woodsy areas. Keep long hair tied back, especially when gardening, and donโ€™t sit directly on the ground or stone walls.ย Examine your clothes, gear, and pets thoroughly after spending time outdoors. And check your skin.ย Some of us will attach right away, but others will wander and look for places like the ear or other areas where the skin is thinner. Donโ€™t forget about some of my sneakiest hiding spots, like under the arms, inside the belly button, and around all head and body hair.ย Some ticks donโ€™t implant right away, so showering within a couple of hours of gardening or walking in the woods may remove them. Itโ€™s also a good idea to put clothes in the dryer on high heat for 10 minutes, which can destroy ticks hiding on your clothes you may have missed. These are the silent signs you could have a parasite.

manicured landscape with trees, grass and flowers
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I hate clean, tidy yards

Want to keep me out of your yard? Keep up with the landscaping. Ticks require a lot of humidity to survive, so we tend to stay away from well-groomed lawns that lack shadeโ€”we just canโ€™t take the heat and will leave to seek shelter elsewhere.ย  Youโ€™re most likely to find us near the edge of your lawn: A wood chip, tree bark, mulch, or gravel barrier between the woods and your lawn can prevent us ticks from migrating onto the lawn. Clean up piles of brush, remove weeds, mow grass regularly, and trim bushes at the edge of your property. These steps should also keep mice, which we also love to feed on, at bay. If you live in an area with lots of ticks, consider hiring someone to thin out trees to allow more sunlight in, which will lower humidity and keep us away.

person spraying bug spray on arm
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I can’t stand repellents

Unfortunately for us ticks, chemicals can help kill and repel us. Products with DEET (those that contain 20 percent or more) are good choices. The chemical permethrin, which can be used only on clothing, not skin, is also very effective as a tick repellent. It remains protective through several washings. You can also treat your property with acaricides (pesticides that kill ticks); many can only be used by licensed commercial pesticide applicators, so ask your landscaper if youโ€™re interested. Try these natural tick repellents that actually work.

four pairs of tweezers
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The one tool that works to get rid of me?

All you need is a pair of fine-tipped tweezers (avoid methods like covering the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make it detach). Grab the tick as close to the surface of your skin as possible and pull upward with steady pressure. Twisting or yanking the tick too quickly can cause some of its mouthparts to remain in your skin. Clean the area thoroughly with soap and water, rubbing alcohol, or an iodine scrub. Never crush the tick with your fingers after removing it, because this may still transmit disease. Itโ€™s a good idea to save me in case your doctor wants to see me later. Stick me in a jar or plastic bag or tape me with clear tape to an index card, noting the day you removed me. Putting some rubbing alcohol in the jar will kill me.

mouse in the woods
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We feast a few times during our life cycle.

Iโ€™m not born with Lyme disease; I actually pick up the bacteria that cause it and other diseases when I first start my vampire shenanigans as a larva. Hereโ€™s how it works: I eat my first blood meal as an itty bitty larva, and itโ€™s here that I can contract Lyme-causing bacteria from my host, like a mouse. Once Iโ€™m done feeding, I drop off, return to the ground, and molt into a nymph. Then Iโ€™m hungry again, and seek out another hostโ€”this time, perhaps a human, maybe you!โ€”to feed on. But now that thereโ€™s bacteria in my blood, I can transmit it to my new host, and possibly get him sick. Then I drop off, return to the ground, and molt into a grown-up. And, not surprisingly, Iโ€™m hungry againโ€”and need the fuel to reproduceโ€”so I find another host and feed again, then mate, and then, unfortunately, I die. Well, not unfortunately for you. Now read through these things to do if you’re bitten by a tick.

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Medically reviewed by Michael Spertus, MD, on November 08, 2019